”Don”t create borders for children”

Don”t create borders for children: Kailash Satyarthi

PTI | January 6, 2016 6:53 pm

Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi on Wednesday advocated for opening the borders between India and Pakistan for children from both the countries emphasising that divisions don’t exist in the minds of the young.

"Let us create a situation where children can go to both sides, there must be not any borders at least for children, " Satyarthi said at an event here.

Recognised for his work against child labour, Satyarthi said in his over 30 years of workings in Pakistan, he had noticed that children there were curious about life in India, its movie stars and people.

"I have been working in Pakistan for the last 30 years and have travelled across Pakistan and I know the young children are curious to know about India, its films, heroes etc. They really want to come to India and also our children want to see many things in Pakistan," he said.

Asked about his thoughts on how to go about achieving peace between the two neighbouring countries, the child rights activist also recounted his meeting with Malala Yousufzai, the teenager from Pakistan with whom he (Satyarthi) shared the Nobel Peace Prize.

"I always believed in doing my bit. I met Malala, hugged her, kissed her and asked if she accepts me as her the new father from India. I called her daughter and she called me abbu," he said.

Satyarthi said he strongly believes that the solution lay "more in the involvement, participation and leadership of the young people."

"We have to find innovative solutions to these problems and invest more on children priorities in policies and programmes. We need to invest more in education for our children and ensure that the world has good laws, which are properly implemented but more importantly we have to build a sense of responsibility towards our children, " he said.